Title: Little Girl Lost
Disclaimer- I don't own Roswell, and mean no infringement. It is owned by Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, UPN, WB, etc.
Category- CC (not at first), AU with Aliens
Rating- Mature
Summary: After years of not knowing what she is, Liz learns that she is half alien and is going to live with her Father in a small rainy town in Washington state. Her joy is cut short when she gets tangled in a web of alien politics, old prejudices, and angry aliens. Would she have been better off not knowing who she is?
This is based loosely, and I mean loosely on Twilight. I wouldn't even put this here except some of their gifts and situations are similar.
Chapter 1
Journal Entry One:
I'm Liz Smith, and two hours ago I died.
Liz looked up as the partition between her and the driver slid down. "Miss Parker, if you are hungry go ahead and open up the sunroof," the driver with the kind smile said. "We'll be losing the light soon." Liz nodded and he rolled the window back up.
She took off her sweater revealing a small tank top, feeling self conscious even though no one was looking. She was used to covering up as much as possible, being invisible. Liz looked out both windows and saw nothing but mountains, well foothills really. They would be climbing those mountains soon enough. When she was satisfied that it was safe, she hit the button to open the sunroof.
The light from the sun bathed her and she instantly felt the familiar fire go through her veins. She slowly let go of her control and the pain vanished, replaced with the chlorophyll that was now circulating just below her skin. It felt so good to nourish herself, to have the thing that kept her feeling healthy and strong. She looked up at the mirrored partition and watched how her olive skin was now really a deep, vibrant olive green.
Liz didn't think she would ever get used to that.
She sighed and looked away, trying not to shiver in the cold mountain air that was now spilling through the sunroof. It wasn't actually all that cold, but it felt cold to her after growing up in the deserts of Roswell, New Mexico. Liz picked her journal back up as she let her body nourish itself. She wouldn't need to eat again for days at this rate.
I'm so used to counting the days I can last until I feed, but that will all end now that I'm dead, Liz wrote. I know I should feel relieved to know what I am, to know there are others out there like me, but I can't help but feel anxious.
She closed her book and tilted her face towards the sun, loving how alive it made her feel. The first time it had happened, those Chlorophyll cells had been activated, she had been scared to death. The little girl next door who she was playing with had been even more scared.
Before she knew what she was doing, she was looking into that little girl's eyes and telling her she had seen nothing. Compulsion is what Grandma Claudia had told her it was, and she was quite impressed that Liz could do it at the young age of five. Liz chalked it up to survival instinct and adrenaline, but Grandma Claudia seemed to think she was special.
Liz felt a tear roll down her cheek and she picked up the urn next to her that contained her Grandma's remains. Grandma Claudia was the only family member she knew from her Father's side of the family, her Father included.
Her whole life Liz would mark the days on her calender until Grandma Claudia would come. Her Mother was less than maternal, and left Liz's care to others as she was more worried about being Roswell's Queen Bee than in being a Mother. Liz knew she made her Mom feel uneasy, hell she made most people uneasy.
It was her eyes, and even at a young age little Liz knew that Grandma Claudia's eyes were different also. They weren't the same color, Grandma's were a vivid blue, but there was still something...other...about them. It was like they could see straight through people, and that made them uneasy.
She also never got sick, had perfect skin, to perfect for a 17 year old. She could eat normal food and enjoy the taste, but it didn't nourish her body like the sun did. People could sense there was something different about her, and people don't like different. It scares them.
Ever since her first feeding Liz had known she was different, and knew how dangerous that could be, not to others, but to her. She hid it, and hid it well. Liz figured out she could stop the production of chlorophyll in her skin, but it came with a high price.
Pain. Intense pain. That did not bode well for a little girl living in the middle of the desert, and she spent most of her childhood dealing with crippling pain but not letting anyone know.
Even her Grandma Claudia didn't know. Liz wanted to tell her so bad, wanted to know if maybe her Father was like that also, but she was so scared of losing the one person that showed her love - the one person that didn't treat her like a freak that she kept quiet.
All she knew of her Father was that he was involved in some dangerous things and he didn't want Liz involved also. Her Mother could care less as long as she got the nice support payment she received each month that kept her in a very nice lifestyle.
Grandma Claudia had visited Liz's whole life, sometimes staying all winter long. She said the warm dry air was good for her old body. The thing was Grandma Claudia didn't act like an old lady. She was incredibly fit and took little Liz on all kinds of adventures.
It was on one of those adventures that Grandma learned that Liz was different. A rattle snake had almost bit her, and Liz had flung it away from her with the flick of her wrist. It all came out then, the green tint to her skin, how she could change the molecular structure of things....
The amazing thing was she wasn't different from Grandma Claudia. She had been checking on her for years to see if she would show any alien tendencies because she, and by association Liz's Father were just that - aliens.
The other amazing thing was Grandma Claudia wasn't 75 years old like Liz was told, but almost 600 years old. She was at the end of her life cycle, and the chlorophyll didn't produce like it once did, hence why she could bare to be in the hot New Mexico sun to check on Liz.
That, and whether she was human or not, Grandma Claudia couldn't stand to not know her Granddaughter. When Liz was born they were certain she was 100% human, even though sometimes the mixture of human DNA and alien DNA caused the alien changes to not present themselves until the child turned about six.
There were certainly signs at birth though, a strange coloring, an almost eerie calm with the baby. Liz had none of these, and her Father wanted to keep her out of the dangerous world of the alien abyss if he could. He wanted her to have a normal life if possible.
Oh, there were plenty from the alien alliance that kept an eye on her for any changes, but she was to smart for even them. Several aging Antarians had lived in Roswell, but all were certain Liz was human.
They couldn't have been more wrong, and word had spread about the amazing girl with such strong will that she could survive so long in the sun without being discovered.
Liz shivered as she felt the clouds cover the sun, and she slipped her sweater back on over her head and closed the moon roof. Once glance in the mirror told her what she already knew - her coloring had returned to a more human shade.
It was only direct sunlight that caused the change in skin tone, that started the production of the life-giving cells that kept them young for hundreds of years, that was the source of their energy that gave them powers.
Only one other thing on Earth could give them that feeling, could nourish and start that energy racing through their veins, and that was blood.
Animal blood, human blood....any kind of blood. Liz had learned this after her Mother had been around a couple of mornings and she hadn't been able to get her early morning feeding at her bedroom window. There was some meat in the fridge that was put there to defrost, and when the drippings made her mouth water to the point that she couldn't stand it anymore, she finally gave in and drank it.
She was shocked that it gave her the same feeling the sun did. It also made it a hell of a lot easier to bare the sunlight. Even though the thought repulsed her, Liz had found ways of getting blood her whole life. Thankfully her Mother wanted only the best cuts of meats from the butcher shop, so she soon learned there was a literal buffet of blood from the freshly drained animals. With her skills of molecular manipulation and her Mother's lack of parenting skills, she found it easy to slip out of the house and to the butcher shop in the middle of the night.
She didn't like doing this though, because even though the taste was so welcoming, made her feel so powerful, it just seemed to go against everything. What was she?
It wasn't long after her seventeenth birthday that she found out, that fateful day when she changed the wind to knock the snake away from her Grandmother. She was from a planet named Antar, which wasn't all that different from Earth.
Her Grandma Claudia was one of the original people who fled the dying planet, the planet that they had killed. Most had perished, but ships carrying 1,000 Antarians had escaped before the planet died. They had found the very primitive Earth, and their King had declared that they would leave Earth to develop as it should.
Considering the damage that they had done to their own planet, most Antarians agreed with this philosophy and enjoyed the simpler lifestyle after seeing what technology had done to Antar.
It was easy at first to find uninhabited areas of Earth to live. Those who lived with Earthlings took jobs mining that kept them safely hidden from the sun. It wasn't hard to move and change your identity back then. The Antarian life cycle was far different from humans, so unless you were getting ready for a change of life, Antarians could only stay in one place for about 10 years before their lack of changing was noticed.
Liz had learned that they lived basically around 600 years. She had found this out when the first Antarian doctor had examined her and told her devastated Grandma that even though Liz was 17, she had used up about 75 years of her life fighting the photosynthesis. It had taken a great amount of energy, and Liz had cut her lifespan by doing it, which was one of the big reasons Antarians didn't go in the sun in public, besides the pain.
She didn't think that seemed so terrible, the fact that she still, baring some freak accident, had 525 years left to live, but it seemed like a great tragedy to the Antarians she had met so far.
And now she was on her way to meet her Father, and to start her new life. She was allowed to keep her first name, Elizabeth, but her last name was changed to Parker. Her Father lived in a small town in the mountains of Washington, where cloudy rainy days were far greater than sunshine, a town where they could mix with humans without notice and without pain.
Her death had been planned within days of the Antarians discovering her to be one of them, not wanting her to ever have to return to the hot sun of New Mexico. At first Liz was resistant, afraid of what it would do to her Mother. Sure she was cold and distant, hardly what anyone would call maternal, but it was still her Mother.
It wasn't until she overheard her Mom talking to her Dad on the phone, bartering with him payment for Liz to visit him. She didn't ask Liz if she wanted to go across the country to be with a man she had never met, didn't worry about sending Liz to a man who left as soon as she was born. All she was worried about was payment for services rendered.
Liz made up her mind then and there to leave her life in Roswell behind her and start anew. It wasn't like she had any friends there, she had purposefully not formed friendships because she didn't know what she was.
Not for the first time Liz wondered if anyone would be sad that she was dead. The small crop plane that was allegedly carrying her and her Grandma to a bigger airport would have crashed by now, and Liz wondered what the reaction would be. She figured some teachers may miss her, as she was an excellent student, and even though her Mother never gave her much mind she hoped that as her Mother she would at least regret that her only child was dead.
Surely Nancy Smith couldn't be that cold, could she?
Liz looked out the window and watched the now steady rain falling. They were into the mountains now, and the driver had pulled off the main road.
The partition came down again. "Miss Parker, I have to stop and pick up your step-sister," he said begrudgingly. "She has gotten herself stuck down the mountain again."
Liz looked out the window again and saw they were pulling into what looked like a small bar's parking lot. She watched a small blonde come barreling out of the bar, skipping happily and reaching the door before the driver could open it.
Before she knew it she was engulfed in a great big hug by the little blonde.
"Oh my God Elizabeth I'm so glad you are here!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she found her way to the seat across from her.
"Thank you," Liz said quietly. She wasn't used to anyone besides Grandma Claudia being excited to see her. Liz studied the blonde across from her. She had beautiful green eyes that had that...other...quality about them, porcelain white skin and full, beautiful lips.
"I'm Maria, your sister by the way, and we are going to have so much fun together!" she exclaimed as Liz couldn't help the smile that broke out on her own face, Maria's enthusiasm and good cheer was definitely contagious.
Little Girl Lost (CC/Mature) AN 3-11 (WIP)
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Little Girl Lost (CC/Mature) AN 3-11 (WIP)
Last edited by kj4ever on Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:05 am, edited 6 times in total.
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My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
Re: Little Girl Lost (Mature) CC ALL Chatper 2
Thanks for the FB everyone! I am glad to see y'all overcoming your Twilight problems to read my story...lol I promise, Liz is not like Bella....Not at ALL...lol
Also, the first three chapters will be fast, then weekly updates. Not sure what day yet, but probably will be updated every Sunday. I have a long version and a short version, haven't made up my mind which way I'm going to go.
Chapter 2
Liz sat back and listened to Maria rattle on and on and on. She didn't mind, not one bit. While most Antarians could manipulate the molecular structure of things some Antarians received a specialized gift. Liz was one of the lucky ones and had the gift of knowing what other people were feeling.
Sometimes it could be a curse of course, but right now Liz knew without a doubt how positively thrilled Maria was that Liz was joining their family.
It was also the gift her Grandma Claudia had, so Liz was proud to have part of her with her now.
Maria's eyes fell to where Liz had subconsciously laid her hand. Grandma Claudia's urn. Liz felt a wave of sadness come off of Maria.
"I'm really sorry about Grandma Claudia," Maria said. "She was the best of all of us."
"Yes she was," Liz said, drifting into her own thoughts.
After Grandma had found out that Liz was indeed Alien there was a solid week of chaos. There were tests and doctors and interviews and plans. Liz had met with numerous doctors, and the night before she was going to "die", Grandma Claudia insisted that she spend the night alone with her Granddaughter.
She had rented a nice hotel room and Liz could tell there was something bothering her. "Tonights my last night on Earth Honey Bear," she said, using the nickname she had given Liz when she was a little girl, "and there is no one else on Earth I'd rather spend it with than you."
Liz tried not to be sad and before she knew it she had forgotten all about it being Grandma's last night and just enjoyed the time with her - time when she could be totally honest for the first time. It felt good to finally know who she was - what she was - and to be able to share it with someone else.
She also felt better about going to live with her Father, as Grandma Claudia explained how it had been killing him all these years to be away from her. Grandma shared stories of the olden days, when they had first landed on Earth, how some of the Vampire legends were started, and the last thing Liz promised her Grandma was that she would follow her heart, no matter where it may lead.
When Liz woke up there was nothing left of her Grandma but a pile of dust, and she knew she would miss her everyday, even if it was 525 years of everyday.
"Earth to Liz," Maria said breaking Liz out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Liz said when she realized that she had been zoning out.
"No, no, no I'm sorry!" Maria exclaimed. "I've been insensitive. It must be really hard for you right now," Maria said, looking at Liz with sad eyes.
In the 40 minutes she had rode with Maria in the car Liz was sure of a few things. Maria was crazy, Maria was animated, and Maria was downright kind.
"It's ok, really," Liz said. "Actually it is so nice to talk to someone my own age, someone that understands."
Maria let out an earpiercing laugh. "Oh Elizabeth, we are not the same age. I'm almost 75 years old!" she said, laughing harder when she saw the look on Liz's face. "We do tend to mature differently though, given our life cycles. I bet you are more mature than me even if you are just a baby," she said kindly.
"Oh God, is that what people are going to think of me? That I'm a baby?" Liz asked.
"Well, not me, but I'm sure their will be some," Maria said with a smile.
Liz's eyebrows furrowed as she remembered something Grandma had said. "Maria, Grandma Claudia said we'd be going to the same school. If you are 75 why are you still in high school?"
"I've been asking myself that for years!" Maria exclaimed. "This is my 7th and hopefully last go round in high school hell," she said as she wrinkled her nose. "It doesn't matter where you live, or what time period high school is always the same. It's vicious."
"Well it couldn't be any worse than my last high school," Liz said. "At least there will be others like me there."
Maria snorted. "Yeah, sure..."
Liz furrowed her brows again at Maria's response.
"Look, I'm sure it will be a lot better now that you'll be there," Maria said, warming to that idea, "but we still have to go to school with the Royal Four," she said with an exagerated eye roll.
"Royal Four?" Liz asked.
"Did Grandma Claudia explain Antarian Royalty to you?" Maria asked.
Liz shook her head yes. Grandma Claudia had explained that they still had a high King, one all Antarians were to obey. The current King Phillip was a kind and just man, like all the others before him. They bore the mark of the King - the ability to read minds.
"Well King Phillip and Queen Diane had twins, Max and Isabel. Then Ed Harding and his wife had twins at the same time, Michael and Tess," Maria said as Liz nodded to show she was keeping up. "Well Max will be the next King, he has the mind reading ability, and since twins are so very rare whispers of Fate and Destiny spread throughout the community until everyone believed that they should be together. For a bunch of beings that came from an advanced society, they are strangely superstitious with all the talk of Fate...Destiny...junk like that."
"Are they not...." Liz said searching for the words Grandma Claudia had used.
"Mates?" Maria asked.
"Yes, mates, that's it," Liz said feeling a bit foolish. There was so much to learn, a whole new set of rules and social mores. Antarians usually knew their mate as soon as they met them as long as they were of breeding age. They were monogomous creatures, never straying from their mate, even after death. It didn't matter the age, they usually mated right away, and parents rejoiced instead of dreaded when their children started having sex.
Liz and Maria were both born very unconventionally. Before Jeff and Amy Parker met, both of them had not only mated with humans, but produced a child. It was very difficult for Antarians to conceive, and even more difficult with a human. Antarians that just mated with someone once, well that was unheard of until the last 100 years or so. Scientifically they tried to explain it as they knew that person would produce a strong child, and the children that had been born from these matches usually were the strongest among the Antarians. That, or they turned out completely human, as they thought Liz was.
Grandma Claudia said that proved it was Fate that both her and Maria be born. She also warned her that some Antarians may look down on her because of it, but that it wouldn't last long once they learned how "gifted" she was.
Power, it seemed, meant everything to the aliens.
"No, they are not natural mates, much to the dismay of Ed Harding," Maria said. "Ed is a high born Antarian that would just love to be a little higher. So much so that he'll put his children's happiness aside for it."
"That's terrible," Liz said, sensing the immense saddness coming from Maria. "They all don't want to wait for a natural mate?"
Liz was confused. It seemed the one thing that Antarians DID want was to find their natural mate, the one that held an instant attraction, the one they would share their life with. Grandma Claudia had warned her that it was well worth the wait, and could be disasterous if you didn't.
"I suppose they do," Maria said, looking a little uncomfortable, "but this Destiny thing has been going for so many years and Ed Harding has drummed it into everyone's heads for so long....Well I guess it feels like their duty now."
"What does the King and Queen think of this?" Liz asked puzzled. Antarians did believe in fate and things like that, which was a big part of the reason so many waited for their natural match. One of the theories was that people had such a strong attraction to each other because of compatible DNA.
"I don't think they'd mind to much if they went another way, but so many people are thrilled at the whole "Royal Four" concept...Well I guess as long as the four of them don't mind they won't push them to find their natural mate," Maria said.
"Well and that'll be terrible if they ever do, especially for the other person," Liz said. From what Liz knew, they either wouldn't be able to resist the urge to be with their natural mate and leave the other person, or the natural mate would be left watching the one person they knew was their "soul mate" with someone else. Maria's face went white and Liz immediately regretted her words when she felt the grief rolling off her in waves.
"Maria.....Did I say something wrong?" Liz asked.
Maria sighed. "No, you said something right, actually. They all have found their natural mates except for Max. I think they are all waiting to see what Max does before any of them make a move."
Liz considered this and considered the feelings coming off Maria. "Are you one of their mates?" Liz asked quietly. Grandma Claudia had told her how intense it was when you found your natural mate. Liz couldn't even comprehend it, but she knew there was a strong desire to be with them. She told Liz that she would understand some day, but Liz was doubtful. She had spent her life thinking she'd be alone, and even now that she knew who she was, she still thought that way.
Maria breathed out a rush of air. "Yes," she said, almost annoyed. "Michael is mine, I mean my mate," she said almost perturbed.
"I'm...sorry...I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Liz said weakly. She really wasn't used to communicating this much with someone other than Grandma Claudia.
Surprisingly Maria laughed. "Oh it's not you Elizabeth," she said.
"Liz," she said. "Everyone calls me Liz."
"Right, Liz," Maria smiled. "It really wasn't the question, but the object of that question. Michael is so...grrrr...so annoying," she said. "We fight all the time, he dresses badly and has questionable taste in music," Maria said counting off his weaknesses on her fingers.
"And he's supposed to be with?" Liz asked.
"Isabel," Maria said almost like it was a dirty word. "Alright, alright she's not THAT bad, I guess my judgement is a little biased. She can be a real bitch at times, but basically is a good person. Her natural match is Alex, my best friend, or my used to be best friend," she said sadly.
"Why..." Liz started to say...
"Why aren't we anymore?" Maria asked. "Well that would be Michael's fault. You see, when they find their natural match the men are very, very possessive. It is kind of a lose-lose situation. He can't have me but he sure as hell doesn't want anyone else to have me, so even though he knows Alex and I are just friends it drives him crazy when we are together."
"Well that's not fair! He doesn't want to follow the natural path but you get punished?" Liz said incredulously.
"Believe me, there are a lot of things unfair to women in our culture," Maria said, getting riled up. "Even though he is the one chosing this, I would be the one blamed if I pushed him over the edge and he did something stupid."
"So why do they have you living together in the same town?" Liz asked, puzzled. The need to be together was supposed to be so strong, she simply didn't understand why they'd station them in the same place. It seemed cruel. Why didn't they just move Maria?
"Because the King is a masochist?" Maria pondered. "Well actually it's because of my gifts. I can see the future, so I'll always be around Royalty. You probably will be too since you can tell what people are feeling. Our gifts help protect the Royals, and things in our community can be precarious at times. There are those that want us to "out" ourselves now, those that think we are superior to humans. King Phillip thinks we should stay on track, not interfering with human development, but there are a lot that think that is outdated thinking. They are sick of hiding."
"So you're just kind of..." Liz started to say.
"Stuck," Maria said.
"Do you think Michael will ever cave?" Liz asked thoughtfully. It was supposedly easier for a female to resist, but incredibly hard for a man not to "claim" his mate.
"I don't know, I don't think so," Maria said, shaking her head. "He's all about duty and all that stuff. That, and his Father would probably disown him. I did have a human Father after all," Maria said, exaggerating the word human like it was a dirty word.
"Well if one of the others caved wouldn't it break the whole Royal Four thing?" Liz asked. "Then maybe he'd be free to be with you?"
"He'd still have the obstacle of his Father, and Isabel would never cave, Alex would never push her, and Tess, Michael's sister, well she's way to wrapped up in her Dad to ever disappoint him. Ed Harding is counting on his only daughter being Queen some day, and Tess would never disappoint him like that. If Max ever finds his natural mate and chooses that path, it would destroy her more than any of the others," Maria explained.
"Well we could always just grow old together and get a bunch of cats?" Liz said lamely as a big smile broke out on Maria's face.
"Enough of Alien Politics, I get enough of that listening to my Feminist Anatarian Mother," Maria said. "We are almost home!"
Liz looked out the window and saw a huge house coming into view as they wound around the big trees up a long driveway. She saw a couple standing in front of the house, a man with dark hair like her and a woman in a long, flowy hippie like dress with light brown hair.
"Maria," Liz said distractedly. "Why were you down the mountain?"
"Well, I like to sing," Maria said, "only I'm not allowed to sing in public that much because it's dangerous to have to many people recognize us. Sometimes I break the rules and sing during the day with the karaoke machine in that little dive bar.That, and I knew the car would be coming that way and I didn't want you making the trip up here alone."
"Thanks," Liz said with a smile. With all the unexpected turn of events Liz's Father and Step Mother were unable to meet her at the airport. They were just getting into town themselves. Liz took a deep breath as the driver opened the door, stepping into a new, strange world.
She clutched her Grandma's remains tightly as her Father tentatively stepped towards her. Jeff Parker was trying to control his emotions, but when he saw his beautiful daughter her lost it.
"Oh Lizzie, I'm so glad your home," he said, the tears pouring down his face as Liz felt an overwhelming feeling of love, joy, and regret all rolled up in one.
"Me too Dad," she said, the tears rolling down her own cheeks as well. She had never felt even a tenth of the emotion from her Mother, and after hearing just a snippet of how screwed up their community could be Liz understood why her Father wanted to keep her out of it if she were human.
Also, the first three chapters will be fast, then weekly updates. Not sure what day yet, but probably will be updated every Sunday. I have a long version and a short version, haven't made up my mind which way I'm going to go.
Yep, they've been hanging around for 5 to 6 hundred years! Ahh I think Maria is going to be getting herself into all kinds of spots during this one!tequathisy said:
This will definitely be interesting.
Have the aliens been on Earth for 600 years or just arrived? Did they descend from plants?
Maria and Liz seem very different, it will be fun to see them together. I wonder why Maria was stuck in a bar!
Chapter 2
Liz sat back and listened to Maria rattle on and on and on. She didn't mind, not one bit. While most Antarians could manipulate the molecular structure of things some Antarians received a specialized gift. Liz was one of the lucky ones and had the gift of knowing what other people were feeling.
Sometimes it could be a curse of course, but right now Liz knew without a doubt how positively thrilled Maria was that Liz was joining their family.
It was also the gift her Grandma Claudia had, so Liz was proud to have part of her with her now.
Maria's eyes fell to where Liz had subconsciously laid her hand. Grandma Claudia's urn. Liz felt a wave of sadness come off of Maria.
"I'm really sorry about Grandma Claudia," Maria said. "She was the best of all of us."
"Yes she was," Liz said, drifting into her own thoughts.
After Grandma had found out that Liz was indeed Alien there was a solid week of chaos. There were tests and doctors and interviews and plans. Liz had met with numerous doctors, and the night before she was going to "die", Grandma Claudia insisted that she spend the night alone with her Granddaughter.
She had rented a nice hotel room and Liz could tell there was something bothering her. "Tonights my last night on Earth Honey Bear," she said, using the nickname she had given Liz when she was a little girl, "and there is no one else on Earth I'd rather spend it with than you."
Liz tried not to be sad and before she knew it she had forgotten all about it being Grandma's last night and just enjoyed the time with her - time when she could be totally honest for the first time. It felt good to finally know who she was - what she was - and to be able to share it with someone else.
She also felt better about going to live with her Father, as Grandma Claudia explained how it had been killing him all these years to be away from her. Grandma shared stories of the olden days, when they had first landed on Earth, how some of the Vampire legends were started, and the last thing Liz promised her Grandma was that she would follow her heart, no matter where it may lead.
When Liz woke up there was nothing left of her Grandma but a pile of dust, and she knew she would miss her everyday, even if it was 525 years of everyday.
"Earth to Liz," Maria said breaking Liz out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Liz said when she realized that she had been zoning out.
"No, no, no I'm sorry!" Maria exclaimed. "I've been insensitive. It must be really hard for you right now," Maria said, looking at Liz with sad eyes.
In the 40 minutes she had rode with Maria in the car Liz was sure of a few things. Maria was crazy, Maria was animated, and Maria was downright kind.
"It's ok, really," Liz said. "Actually it is so nice to talk to someone my own age, someone that understands."
Maria let out an earpiercing laugh. "Oh Elizabeth, we are not the same age. I'm almost 75 years old!" she said, laughing harder when she saw the look on Liz's face. "We do tend to mature differently though, given our life cycles. I bet you are more mature than me even if you are just a baby," she said kindly.
"Oh God, is that what people are going to think of me? That I'm a baby?" Liz asked.
"Well, not me, but I'm sure their will be some," Maria said with a smile.
Liz's eyebrows furrowed as she remembered something Grandma had said. "Maria, Grandma Claudia said we'd be going to the same school. If you are 75 why are you still in high school?"
"I've been asking myself that for years!" Maria exclaimed. "This is my 7th and hopefully last go round in high school hell," she said as she wrinkled her nose. "It doesn't matter where you live, or what time period high school is always the same. It's vicious."
"Well it couldn't be any worse than my last high school," Liz said. "At least there will be others like me there."
Maria snorted. "Yeah, sure..."
Liz furrowed her brows again at Maria's response.
"Look, I'm sure it will be a lot better now that you'll be there," Maria said, warming to that idea, "but we still have to go to school with the Royal Four," she said with an exagerated eye roll.
"Royal Four?" Liz asked.
"Did Grandma Claudia explain Antarian Royalty to you?" Maria asked.
Liz shook her head yes. Grandma Claudia had explained that they still had a high King, one all Antarians were to obey. The current King Phillip was a kind and just man, like all the others before him. They bore the mark of the King - the ability to read minds.
"Well King Phillip and Queen Diane had twins, Max and Isabel. Then Ed Harding and his wife had twins at the same time, Michael and Tess," Maria said as Liz nodded to show she was keeping up. "Well Max will be the next King, he has the mind reading ability, and since twins are so very rare whispers of Fate and Destiny spread throughout the community until everyone believed that they should be together. For a bunch of beings that came from an advanced society, they are strangely superstitious with all the talk of Fate...Destiny...junk like that."
"Are they not...." Liz said searching for the words Grandma Claudia had used.
"Mates?" Maria asked.
"Yes, mates, that's it," Liz said feeling a bit foolish. There was so much to learn, a whole new set of rules and social mores. Antarians usually knew their mate as soon as they met them as long as they were of breeding age. They were monogomous creatures, never straying from their mate, even after death. It didn't matter the age, they usually mated right away, and parents rejoiced instead of dreaded when their children started having sex.
Liz and Maria were both born very unconventionally. Before Jeff and Amy Parker met, both of them had not only mated with humans, but produced a child. It was very difficult for Antarians to conceive, and even more difficult with a human. Antarians that just mated with someone once, well that was unheard of until the last 100 years or so. Scientifically they tried to explain it as they knew that person would produce a strong child, and the children that had been born from these matches usually were the strongest among the Antarians. That, or they turned out completely human, as they thought Liz was.
Grandma Claudia said that proved it was Fate that both her and Maria be born. She also warned her that some Antarians may look down on her because of it, but that it wouldn't last long once they learned how "gifted" she was.
Power, it seemed, meant everything to the aliens.
"No, they are not natural mates, much to the dismay of Ed Harding," Maria said. "Ed is a high born Antarian that would just love to be a little higher. So much so that he'll put his children's happiness aside for it."
"That's terrible," Liz said, sensing the immense saddness coming from Maria. "They all don't want to wait for a natural mate?"
Liz was confused. It seemed the one thing that Antarians DID want was to find their natural mate, the one that held an instant attraction, the one they would share their life with. Grandma Claudia had warned her that it was well worth the wait, and could be disasterous if you didn't.
"I suppose they do," Maria said, looking a little uncomfortable, "but this Destiny thing has been going for so many years and Ed Harding has drummed it into everyone's heads for so long....Well I guess it feels like their duty now."
"What does the King and Queen think of this?" Liz asked puzzled. Antarians did believe in fate and things like that, which was a big part of the reason so many waited for their natural match. One of the theories was that people had such a strong attraction to each other because of compatible DNA.
"I don't think they'd mind to much if they went another way, but so many people are thrilled at the whole "Royal Four" concept...Well I guess as long as the four of them don't mind they won't push them to find their natural mate," Maria said.
"Well and that'll be terrible if they ever do, especially for the other person," Liz said. From what Liz knew, they either wouldn't be able to resist the urge to be with their natural mate and leave the other person, or the natural mate would be left watching the one person they knew was their "soul mate" with someone else. Maria's face went white and Liz immediately regretted her words when she felt the grief rolling off her in waves.
"Maria.....Did I say something wrong?" Liz asked.
Maria sighed. "No, you said something right, actually. They all have found their natural mates except for Max. I think they are all waiting to see what Max does before any of them make a move."
Liz considered this and considered the feelings coming off Maria. "Are you one of their mates?" Liz asked quietly. Grandma Claudia had told her how intense it was when you found your natural mate. Liz couldn't even comprehend it, but she knew there was a strong desire to be with them. She told Liz that she would understand some day, but Liz was doubtful. She had spent her life thinking she'd be alone, and even now that she knew who she was, she still thought that way.
Maria breathed out a rush of air. "Yes," she said, almost annoyed. "Michael is mine, I mean my mate," she said almost perturbed.
"I'm...sorry...I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Liz said weakly. She really wasn't used to communicating this much with someone other than Grandma Claudia.
Surprisingly Maria laughed. "Oh it's not you Elizabeth," she said.
"Liz," she said. "Everyone calls me Liz."
"Right, Liz," Maria smiled. "It really wasn't the question, but the object of that question. Michael is so...grrrr...so annoying," she said. "We fight all the time, he dresses badly and has questionable taste in music," Maria said counting off his weaknesses on her fingers.
"And he's supposed to be with?" Liz asked.
"Isabel," Maria said almost like it was a dirty word. "Alright, alright she's not THAT bad, I guess my judgement is a little biased. She can be a real bitch at times, but basically is a good person. Her natural match is Alex, my best friend, or my used to be best friend," she said sadly.
"Why..." Liz started to say...
"Why aren't we anymore?" Maria asked. "Well that would be Michael's fault. You see, when they find their natural match the men are very, very possessive. It is kind of a lose-lose situation. He can't have me but he sure as hell doesn't want anyone else to have me, so even though he knows Alex and I are just friends it drives him crazy when we are together."
"Well that's not fair! He doesn't want to follow the natural path but you get punished?" Liz said incredulously.
"Believe me, there are a lot of things unfair to women in our culture," Maria said, getting riled up. "Even though he is the one chosing this, I would be the one blamed if I pushed him over the edge and he did something stupid."
"So why do they have you living together in the same town?" Liz asked, puzzled. The need to be together was supposed to be so strong, she simply didn't understand why they'd station them in the same place. It seemed cruel. Why didn't they just move Maria?
"Because the King is a masochist?" Maria pondered. "Well actually it's because of my gifts. I can see the future, so I'll always be around Royalty. You probably will be too since you can tell what people are feeling. Our gifts help protect the Royals, and things in our community can be precarious at times. There are those that want us to "out" ourselves now, those that think we are superior to humans. King Phillip thinks we should stay on track, not interfering with human development, but there are a lot that think that is outdated thinking. They are sick of hiding."
"So you're just kind of..." Liz started to say.
"Stuck," Maria said.
"Do you think Michael will ever cave?" Liz asked thoughtfully. It was supposedly easier for a female to resist, but incredibly hard for a man not to "claim" his mate.
"I don't know, I don't think so," Maria said, shaking her head. "He's all about duty and all that stuff. That, and his Father would probably disown him. I did have a human Father after all," Maria said, exaggerating the word human like it was a dirty word.
"Well if one of the others caved wouldn't it break the whole Royal Four thing?" Liz asked. "Then maybe he'd be free to be with you?"
"He'd still have the obstacle of his Father, and Isabel would never cave, Alex would never push her, and Tess, Michael's sister, well she's way to wrapped up in her Dad to ever disappoint him. Ed Harding is counting on his only daughter being Queen some day, and Tess would never disappoint him like that. If Max ever finds his natural mate and chooses that path, it would destroy her more than any of the others," Maria explained.
"Well we could always just grow old together and get a bunch of cats?" Liz said lamely as a big smile broke out on Maria's face.
"Enough of Alien Politics, I get enough of that listening to my Feminist Anatarian Mother," Maria said. "We are almost home!"
Liz looked out the window and saw a huge house coming into view as they wound around the big trees up a long driveway. She saw a couple standing in front of the house, a man with dark hair like her and a woman in a long, flowy hippie like dress with light brown hair.
"Maria," Liz said distractedly. "Why were you down the mountain?"
"Well, I like to sing," Maria said, "only I'm not allowed to sing in public that much because it's dangerous to have to many people recognize us. Sometimes I break the rules and sing during the day with the karaoke machine in that little dive bar.That, and I knew the car would be coming that way and I didn't want you making the trip up here alone."
"Thanks," Liz said with a smile. With all the unexpected turn of events Liz's Father and Step Mother were unable to meet her at the airport. They were just getting into town themselves. Liz took a deep breath as the driver opened the door, stepping into a new, strange world.
She clutched her Grandma's remains tightly as her Father tentatively stepped towards her. Jeff Parker was trying to control his emotions, but when he saw his beautiful daughter her lost it.
"Oh Lizzie, I'm so glad your home," he said, the tears pouring down his face as Liz felt an overwhelming feeling of love, joy, and regret all rolled up in one.
"Me too Dad," she said, the tears rolling down her own cheeks as well. She had never felt even a tenth of the emotion from her Mother, and after hearing just a snippet of how screwed up their community could be Liz understood why her Father wanted to keep her out of it if she were human.
Find all the links to my fics in one place:
My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
Re: Little Girl Lost (Mature) CC ALL Chatper 2 11-13
Thanks for the FB everyone! I'm glad to see many of my favorite feedbackers have found my new fic!
keepsmiling7, Tess is going to be a very complex character in this one, but not the devil that killed Alex like on the show, I promise!
begonia, I'm glad you are enjoying it!
nibbles2, I'll keep that in mind
garcia88 and Roswellian117, I won't make you wait 100 chapters before that happens, I promise, but there is a little bit more before they meet.
chanks_girl, thanks, and I thought it would be good for Maria to introduce her too! More than you think will change when she meets the royals
L-J-L 76 *phew* that's a lot of questions. I'm not sure if you'll get all the answers, but you'll get some!
cjsl8ne, yes Liz is about to shake up EVERYONE's world
tequathisy, thanks! I usually don't go for that either, but this won't be to bad, I promise!
Chapter 3
Liz walked out of her large en suite bathroom into her very large bedroom, drying her hair with her fingers as she walked. Her bedroom was very tastefully decorated in an understated, classy kind of way. She even had a walk-in closet full of clothes, that were in the same understated classy style. Many were things she never would have worn before, not because they were not her taste but because they were attractive, they would draw attention.
It seemed that while Antarians didn't draw attention to their selves in a obvious way like becoming famous or making lifelong friendships with humans, they had no problems with looking good. Liz was amazed that everything they picked out was so her, down to the periodic chart on her wall.
Liz sighed. Grandma Claudia. She had to of made sure everything was just so for her so that she would feel at home. Liz could just imagine her giving Jeff Parker marching orders on how things should be.
It had been an educational and emotional day. It was strange, living in this family environment. Her Father was a nice man with a kind smile that made his eyes crinkle in the corners, and her Step-Mother Amy was a firecracker just like Maria, incredibly loving and passionate about things.
She pulled on the bright multi-colored robe and sat down on the bench in front of the large picture window, pulling her knees up to her chest, resting her head on the glass while looking into the woods that were bathed in moonlight. Her life had been spun around 360 degrees in the last week, and she was thankful to be alone so that she could start to wrap her head around it.
It would be a busy day tomorrow as there would be a funeral for Grandma Claudia, which had Amy running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Many Antarians were coming into town as Claudia was one of the originals that had escaped from their dying planet. She was one of the last ones left, and her passing would be mourned around the world.
Liz was nervous, as Grandma Claudia's funeral would kind of be her introduction into society. Besides that she had to go through a battery of tests tomorrow, which was one of her biggest fears her whole life. Sure she had been examined back in Roswell, but Grandma Claudia had been there and she had felt safe. It seemed the Antarian policies stopped for nothing, and every single one of them were cataloged by what powers they possessed.
She figured it was a necessity, especially when they needed to investigate crimes perpetrated by Antarians. Just like humans there were the good and the bad, and baring the humans finding out their weaknesses, they didn't have a hope in hell of catching one of these heinous creatures. Those vampire rumors came to light after some of the members of the bad community had taken a liking to human blood, and would change the molecular structure of their teeth to be able to bite humans jugulars.
Pulling the robe around her closer Liz shivered, thinking about how someone could do something like that. The science hadn't been explained to her exactly, but it seemed Antarian's digestive systems weren't as functional as humans, and blood was easier for them to process into nutrients. It was really their only option if the sun wasn't available, and human blood was more potent than animal blood.
One of the most joyous things Liz had learned was her Father was a scientist. Since school was out for winter break she was going to get to go with her Father to his lab the day after the funeral. The technology, the science that they knew, well Liz was sure it would blow her away. She really didn't want to waste her time going back to high school, she'd be happy to work in the lab doing anything, cleaning garbage cans if need be, but her Father said it was important to be around humans, to understand the culture.
Liz knew enough about humans, or so she thought. Her Father, even with the guilt that rolled out of his pores, told her in no uncertain terms that she would, in fact, be finishing high school, possibly multiple times.
It had felt weird, feeling people's feelings and them knowing about it. Liz always felt terrible when she caught someone feeling something that should have been private, and although it was usually just a slight feeling she got unless she really, really concentrated, only the powerful ones hit her clear as day.
Right now she was having one of those moments.
It hit her like a ton of bricks when she felt the pain, longing, grief? was it? Without thinking Liz slipped her slippers on and rushed out of the room, heading down the winding staircase towards the feeling.
She didn't hear any of her family members as they were all bound and determined to be quiet so she could sleep. They seemed amused that she still needed to sleep for hours, because once an Antarian reached around 75 a few cat naps were all that was needed.
Liz reached out with her senses and followed them out the front door, rounding the corner of the house when she almost bumped into the source of those feelings, a very tall guy with spiky hair who was staring up at Maria's window.
She screeched to a halt before she bumped into the person in all that pain.
They stared at each other for a minute, each shocked that the other was there.
"Who are you?" he stated in an even tone.
"I...I'm Liz..Elizabeth," Liz corrected since Antarians didn't seem to use nicknames.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" he asked, sounding annoyed.
Liz felt herself get annoyed also as he was speaking to her as if she was a little child. Maria did warn her that could happen. "I thought someone was in trouble, I felt all this pain....Are you Michael?" she asked.
"You shouldn't be wandering out here in the middle of the night," Michael said, ignoring both her statement and her question.
Liz folded her arms across her chest. "I can take care of myself," she said defiantly. "I've been doing it for a long time."
"Really?" he asked, walking towards her in a menacingly way, trying to prove a point.
Before she knew what was happening, she put her hand up and produced a green shield, one that looked alive and pliable. It was also partially see-through, so she saw the look of shock on his face. She quickly dropped the shield.
Michael regained his composer and grabbed Liz by the shoulders. "Listen to me, and listen to me good, do not tell anyone you can do that!" Michael exclaimed.
Liz was about to let out an ear piercing scream when Maria rounded the corner.
"Michael, let her go," she hissed.
Michael released Liz like she was a hot potatoe and took a step back. Liz felt the longing return in full force and it practically dropped her to her knees.
Maria rushed over to Liz and put her arm around her shoulder. "Are you alright Liz?" she asked, glaring at Michael the whole time.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.
Michael shuffled his feet uncomfortably as he thought of what to say. "I didn't mean to grab you," he said and Liz knew he meant it. His feelings, well now fear was mixed in. "I just, I'm sorry, okay?"
"You would have been more sorry if the vision I had would have come into play," Maria said, thinking of how Jeff Parker had ran out after hearing his daughter scream finding Michael shaking his only daughter.
Michael put his fingers to his temples, trying to think. "It's just, what she did can cause a lot of problems. Please Elizabeth, don't tell anyone," he said, and as Maria gave him an incredulous look he amended, "well you can tell your family, but that's it. Your Father will understand," he said as he started to walk away.
"Michael!" Maria practically yelled. "Where the hell do you think..." she started to say but stopped when she realized he was out of earshot now.
Liz and Maria watched him start to run, run so fast he was practically a blur. They looked at each other quizzically. "What did you do Liz?" Maria asked.
"I don't really know," Liz said as they rounded the corner of the house. "I guess I made a shield thing?" she finished lamely.
"Oh my God," Maria said, her hand flying to her mouth. "We need to get Jeff," she said, rushing into the house, leaving a puzzled Liz behind.
keepsmiling7, Tess is going to be a very complex character in this one, but not the devil that killed Alex like on the show, I promise!
begonia, I'm glad you are enjoying it!
nibbles2, I'll keep that in mind
garcia88 and Roswellian117, I won't make you wait 100 chapters before that happens, I promise, but there is a little bit more before they meet.
chanks_girl, thanks, and I thought it would be good for Maria to introduce her too! More than you think will change when she meets the royals
L-J-L 76 *phew* that's a lot of questions. I'm not sure if you'll get all the answers, but you'll get some!
cjsl8ne, yes Liz is about to shake up EVERYONE's world
tequathisy, thanks! I usually don't go for that either, but this won't be to bad, I promise!
Chapter 3
Liz walked out of her large en suite bathroom into her very large bedroom, drying her hair with her fingers as she walked. Her bedroom was very tastefully decorated in an understated, classy kind of way. She even had a walk-in closet full of clothes, that were in the same understated classy style. Many were things she never would have worn before, not because they were not her taste but because they were attractive, they would draw attention.
It seemed that while Antarians didn't draw attention to their selves in a obvious way like becoming famous or making lifelong friendships with humans, they had no problems with looking good. Liz was amazed that everything they picked out was so her, down to the periodic chart on her wall.
Liz sighed. Grandma Claudia. She had to of made sure everything was just so for her so that she would feel at home. Liz could just imagine her giving Jeff Parker marching orders on how things should be.
It had been an educational and emotional day. It was strange, living in this family environment. Her Father was a nice man with a kind smile that made his eyes crinkle in the corners, and her Step-Mother Amy was a firecracker just like Maria, incredibly loving and passionate about things.
She pulled on the bright multi-colored robe and sat down on the bench in front of the large picture window, pulling her knees up to her chest, resting her head on the glass while looking into the woods that were bathed in moonlight. Her life had been spun around 360 degrees in the last week, and she was thankful to be alone so that she could start to wrap her head around it.
It would be a busy day tomorrow as there would be a funeral for Grandma Claudia, which had Amy running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Many Antarians were coming into town as Claudia was one of the originals that had escaped from their dying planet. She was one of the last ones left, and her passing would be mourned around the world.
Liz was nervous, as Grandma Claudia's funeral would kind of be her introduction into society. Besides that she had to go through a battery of tests tomorrow, which was one of her biggest fears her whole life. Sure she had been examined back in Roswell, but Grandma Claudia had been there and she had felt safe. It seemed the Antarian policies stopped for nothing, and every single one of them were cataloged by what powers they possessed.
She figured it was a necessity, especially when they needed to investigate crimes perpetrated by Antarians. Just like humans there were the good and the bad, and baring the humans finding out their weaknesses, they didn't have a hope in hell of catching one of these heinous creatures. Those vampire rumors came to light after some of the members of the bad community had taken a liking to human blood, and would change the molecular structure of their teeth to be able to bite humans jugulars.
Pulling the robe around her closer Liz shivered, thinking about how someone could do something like that. The science hadn't been explained to her exactly, but it seemed Antarian's digestive systems weren't as functional as humans, and blood was easier for them to process into nutrients. It was really their only option if the sun wasn't available, and human blood was more potent than animal blood.
One of the most joyous things Liz had learned was her Father was a scientist. Since school was out for winter break she was going to get to go with her Father to his lab the day after the funeral. The technology, the science that they knew, well Liz was sure it would blow her away. She really didn't want to waste her time going back to high school, she'd be happy to work in the lab doing anything, cleaning garbage cans if need be, but her Father said it was important to be around humans, to understand the culture.
Liz knew enough about humans, or so she thought. Her Father, even with the guilt that rolled out of his pores, told her in no uncertain terms that she would, in fact, be finishing high school, possibly multiple times.
It had felt weird, feeling people's feelings and them knowing about it. Liz always felt terrible when she caught someone feeling something that should have been private, and although it was usually just a slight feeling she got unless she really, really concentrated, only the powerful ones hit her clear as day.
Right now she was having one of those moments.
It hit her like a ton of bricks when she felt the pain, longing, grief? was it? Without thinking Liz slipped her slippers on and rushed out of the room, heading down the winding staircase towards the feeling.
She didn't hear any of her family members as they were all bound and determined to be quiet so she could sleep. They seemed amused that she still needed to sleep for hours, because once an Antarian reached around 75 a few cat naps were all that was needed.
Liz reached out with her senses and followed them out the front door, rounding the corner of the house when she almost bumped into the source of those feelings, a very tall guy with spiky hair who was staring up at Maria's window.
She screeched to a halt before she bumped into the person in all that pain.
They stared at each other for a minute, each shocked that the other was there.
"Who are you?" he stated in an even tone.
"I...I'm Liz..Elizabeth," Liz corrected since Antarians didn't seem to use nicknames.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" he asked, sounding annoyed.
Liz felt herself get annoyed also as he was speaking to her as if she was a little child. Maria did warn her that could happen. "I thought someone was in trouble, I felt all this pain....Are you Michael?" she asked.
"You shouldn't be wandering out here in the middle of the night," Michael said, ignoring both her statement and her question.
Liz folded her arms across her chest. "I can take care of myself," she said defiantly. "I've been doing it for a long time."
"Really?" he asked, walking towards her in a menacingly way, trying to prove a point.
Before she knew what was happening, she put her hand up and produced a green shield, one that looked alive and pliable. It was also partially see-through, so she saw the look of shock on his face. She quickly dropped the shield.
Michael regained his composer and grabbed Liz by the shoulders. "Listen to me, and listen to me good, do not tell anyone you can do that!" Michael exclaimed.
Liz was about to let out an ear piercing scream when Maria rounded the corner.
"Michael, let her go," she hissed.
Michael released Liz like she was a hot potatoe and took a step back. Liz felt the longing return in full force and it practically dropped her to her knees.
Maria rushed over to Liz and put her arm around her shoulder. "Are you alright Liz?" she asked, glaring at Michael the whole time.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.
Michael shuffled his feet uncomfortably as he thought of what to say. "I didn't mean to grab you," he said and Liz knew he meant it. His feelings, well now fear was mixed in. "I just, I'm sorry, okay?"
"You would have been more sorry if the vision I had would have come into play," Maria said, thinking of how Jeff Parker had ran out after hearing his daughter scream finding Michael shaking his only daughter.
Michael put his fingers to his temples, trying to think. "It's just, what she did can cause a lot of problems. Please Elizabeth, don't tell anyone," he said, and as Maria gave him an incredulous look he amended, "well you can tell your family, but that's it. Your Father will understand," he said as he started to walk away.
"Michael!" Maria practically yelled. "Where the hell do you think..." she started to say but stopped when she realized he was out of earshot now.
Liz and Maria watched him start to run, run so fast he was practically a blur. They looked at each other quizzically. "What did you do Liz?" Maria asked.
"I don't really know," Liz said as they rounded the corner of the house. "I guess I made a shield thing?" she finished lamely.
"Oh my God," Maria said, her hand flying to her mouth. "We need to get Jeff," she said, rushing into the house, leaving a puzzled Liz behind.
Find all the links to my fics in one place:
My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
Re: Little Girl Lost (Mature) CC ALL Chatper 3 11-16
Ahh thanks for the FB everyone!
Chapter 4
Michael peered into the room before entering. His sister, Tess, was laying haphazardly on the couch, her leg over the side, pretending to read a book. His best friend and future King Max was at the computer, diligently working.
Tess looked so bored. Why she came her night after night while Max worked was beyond Michael. Well really, he knew why, their Father insisted on it. Sure, Tess cared for Max, they had been friends for over 75 years, but Michael was quite sure that he bored the hell out of her, and vise virsa.
It was like their Father Ed thought that things would change, that Max would suddenly discover that Tess was his natural match. How someone who had lived over 300 years, knew the history of the Antarians could be so naive was beyond him, and why they went along with it was slowly eating away at him.
Tess was fun and vivacious and liked to get into trouble. Max was serious and followed the rules and a damn hard worker. They were opposites in every way, and in this case opposites did not attract.
'Kinda like me and Isabel,' Michael thought. He knew he was in a mess, and just didn't know how to get out of it. Michael loved Isabel, but it was how he loved Tess, like a sister. The thought of mating with her made his skin crawl. It wasn't so bad before, I mean Isabel was beautiful and smart and everything a man could want. He was almost in the mind set that it would be better that way, without the passion of a natural match, without the whole neediness of it. Michael hated needing anyone. It would be much easier to do their duty without the whole look into your eyes soul mate thing.
Then Maria came along a year ago. It was like being hit by a train, and his Father had been devastated. Well, pissed off was more like it. Michael sighed as he went up the winding stairs searching for the King. He felt a moment of guilt for not going to his own Dad, but lately Michael was really starting to question his Father's intentions towards a lot of things, and if there was one thing that Michael was, it was intuitive.
One thing that he was good at was determining people's character. It was like he just knew what kind of person someone was. They didn't know if it was an Antarian gift or not, some humans had a knack for that too, but it was strong in Michael. No, his gifts were physical, with lots of firepower, destructive things. Michael could move so fast he could break the sound barrier, could hear for miles, could see in the dark. Ed Harding had been very disappointed in his only son as higher bred Antarians usually always had mental gifts, but the King had been thrilled.
Someone like Michael hadn't come along in a very long time.
The King looked up from his desk as Michael gently knocked on the door frame. He momentarily smiled until he saw the look on Michael's face, started reading Michael's thoughts.
"Do you think she'll be able to hide it?" King Phillip asked as he got up and put his coat on.
"For her sake, I hope so," Michael said as him and Phillip left the office, leaving the house the back way so Tess and Max didn't see that they were leaving. Michael was used to this short hand type conversation when he was around the King or Max.
King Phillip frowned as they made their way the short distance between his estate and the Parker residence. He hated knowing how much pain Michael was in, hated the guilt that he didn't trust his own Father.
As of late Phillip was having a hard time trusting him too. The problem was he couldn't read Ed Harding's mind. It seemed no one with mental gifts could use them on Ed, so no one knew his true intentions. 'If his own son doesn't trust him....' Phillip thought, 'then perhaps I've been right all along.' Phillip never liked Ed, even though to the outside world Ed acted like they were best friends. Keep your enemies close had been Phillip's philosophy, and he had kept Ed Harding very close. Even though Phillip's word was law, he knew that Ed had power too as one of the founding families of Antar.
He looked at Michael with empathy as he heard his internal dialog about being strong. "You don't have to go in Michael," King Phillip said. "I know how hard it is for you."
"I'll just have to get used to it," Michael said through gritted teeth.
"You have a choice Michael, and you have to do what is best for you," Phillip said, placing his hand on Michael's shoulder. It was not the first time Phillip had made it known that it would not bother him in the least if Michael followed the natural path. In fact, Michael had the sinking suspicion that he had kept them close so that they WOULD do that.
As King, Phillip needed to remain neutral on the subject. It was a double edged sword, really. The Antarians had been waiting for a double wedding ever since these kids were born, and when they all reached breeding age at 17 and found they were not natural matches, well that didn't stop the rumors of Destiny and Fate. No, Antarians loved their folk lore, and this was one tale that had grown way out of control.
Phillip knew Ed was behind it all, but there was nothing he could do about that.
The door opened before they could knock, Maria flashing King Phillip a big smile. 'No sneaking up on me,' she thought as King Phillip laughed.
______________________________________________________________
"I don't know how it happened, Dad, I swear," Liz was saying as they entered the room. "That has never happened to me before." She was worried, really worried as she felt the panic and stress roll off her Father and Step Mother. She felt the extra emotions come in the room, and didn't need to look up to see Michael was back. She took a deep breath and pushed all the emotions into the background of her brain so that she could function and not be overwhelmed.
What did surprise her was another person was in the room, an older man, and she couldn't read anything from him. That had never happened before. She turned to look at him, noticing that he was looking at her just as curiously.
"Phillip," Jeff said, crossing the room, shaking the man's hand. "Thank you for coming."
Amy had went over to Phillip also, giving him a kiss on the cheek, then sent a wicked glare at Michael, making him noticeably uncomfortable.
Liz stood up. Phillip. This must be the Antarian King.
"Phillip, this is Elizabeth, our Daughter," Jeff said as Liz shook his hand. She felt like she should courtesy or something, but Jeff and Amy had explained to her earlier that they did not believe in those traditions, that was an Earth thing.
"It's wonderful to meet you Elizabeth," Phillip said kindly. She may not be able to read his emotions, but she could tell that Phillip was a kind man.
The fact that the King had come made Liz even more nervous, and it must have shown.
"You haven't done anything wrong," Phillip said.
"Oh no, of course not Lizzie!" Amy exclaimed, coming and putting her arms around Liz. Her first instinct was to pull away. Liz was not used to a Motherly type of love, but the more she was around Amy the more she liked it.
Liz looked at Phillip curiously. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You can read minds!'
"Actually," Phillip said, motioning for everyone to sit down, "I can't read yours. I was expecting that though, I couldn't read your Grandmother's either."
Liz let out a deep breath as everyone sat down. "I don't feel your emotions either Mr. Evans," she said.
"Please, it's Phillip," he said with a warm smile as Liz nodded. "Your Grandma couldn't feel our emotions either. My son, Max, he loved being around Claudia. It was nice not to know everyone's exact thoughts. I imagine the two of you will be great friends too."
"Are we the only ones? People who are empaths?" Liz asked.
"Well, not exactly. I can't read my wife's mind either, but she isn't an empath. She dream walks like my daughter Isabel, but I can read Isabel's mind, unfortunately some times," he said with a chuckle. "Your Grandma and you are the only other ones so far. Michael's Father Ed, well his mind is muffled. Sometimes I get things, and sometimes I don't. It's really strange," he said.
Liz noticed a change in the emotions in the room, even from Michael, when he said Ed's name. Everyone was uncomfortable. She would have to watch it when she was around him, she just had a feeling he was bad news.
"So about the shield," Michael said, moving the subject from his Father.
"Why is everyone so scared?" Liz asked, confused.
"Lizzie, do you think you could do it again?" her Father asked.
"Well, I don't know, I'm not sure how I did it to begin with. Michael was charging at me and..." she started to say.
"Hey Liz!" Maria said and threw a candle holder at her full speed, which at Antarian strength was almost faster than a human eye could see.
Liz instantly raised her hand, producing the shield, and the candle holder rebounded off it, flying into the wall, creating a big hole.
"Maria!" Amy admonished, as Michael stifled a chuckle.
"What?" Maria said. "She said she didn't know how to do it and......" everything went quiet as Jeff Parker had moved to stand in front of Michael.
"You charged my daughter," he said between gritted teeth.
In all her years, Liz thought she had felt every feeling available. She had felt pain, joy, love, lust, hate....but nothing ever compared to this, and she was holding back.
It was...primal...and it scared the hell out of her. All the things she had heard about Antarian men, how protective, how they felt about their children and their mates, well Liz was starting to understand why the rules may be a little different for the women, because they didn't feel even a tenth of the emotion the men felt.
Phillip was up in a second, looking worried. "Calm down Jeff, I'm sure there is a valid reason. Michael?"
Michael kept his gaze even as he looked at Jeff. He knew Jeff didn't stand a chance in hell if he tried to fight him, but he didn't want to hurt him, and he knew Jeff was running on pure instinct.
Antarian men and instinct could be lethal.
"I would never hurt her Jeff," Michael said. "I was just trying to teach her a lesson. Little kids should not be wandering around in the dark, especially after what we just learned about her."
Liz felt the emotions start to fade and let out a sigh of relief. Then she realized what Michael said.
"I am not a little kid Michael," she said, annoyed.
The men all sat down and the atmosphere cleared. "Yes, you are," Michael retorted, "and you need a good healthy dose of fear."
Liz snorted. "Whatever," she said, getting angry. "I lived 17 years not knowing who I was, why I turned green in the sunlight, why I could do all these impossible things. I spent 17 years hiding it, in horrible pain, because I pretty much knew what would happen to me if I were ever discovered, so don't you dare tell me about fear Michael, and don't you dare insinuate that I can't take care of myself because I have done just that, my entire life."
Immediately she wished she could take it back as the felt the guilt and sadness rolling off everyone in the room. Liz had just brushed it to the side when she had talked to her Father and Amy earlier, like it was no big deal. She had tried to make it seem like it was just this big adventure, but now they knew the truth. Liz's first 17 years had been complete hell, except for when Grandma Claudia visited.
Jeff and Amy both looked positively horrified and she could feel the shame rolling off Michael.
"We all failed you Elizabeth," Phillip said softly. "ALL of us," he said pointedly at Jeff, not allowing him to take the blame on by himself. Phillip could not imagine what Jeff was going through, knowing that his daughter had lived that way for so long. "But we will not fail you again, which is why we have to make sure you know why the fact that you produce that shield is dangerous."
"Yes, why is that such a big deal?" Liz asked. There was still so much for her to learn, and with a ton of Antarians coming into town for Grandma Claudia's funeral, she was starting to worry that she just wouldn't be prepared.
"When they found out I could do this," Maria said, stood up and put her hand in front of her, a brilliant purple shield coming from her hand, "I was kidnapped."
"Oh God, why?" Liz asked. She didn't understand, didn't understand any of this. Michael, well she couldn't see how he was even keeping himself in his skin. She could tell that he wanted to go to her, to hold her, but he was fighting, and fighting hard.
She would never make the mistake of thinking that Michael Harding was weak.
Maria sat back down, and Amy took Liz's hand. "Honey, just like humans, not all Antarians are good. Back on our planet, and here until about a year ago, the only beings that could make a shield were royalty."
"There are many people here that think the notion of Royalty is outdated," Jeff said, coming to the other side of Liz. "There is a lot of division in our community right now. Some people don't want to hide anymore, some people think we are superior to humans. A group that believes both those things took Maria. We think they wanted to see if they could produce a child from her that it would also be able to produce a shield and it would debunk the whole meaning of Royalty."
"Oh Maria," Liz said, her hand flying to her mouth.
"It's nothing," Maria said, but Liz knew damn well she was doing what Liz had done earlier, glossed over the truth. "They wouldn't dare try it now. My powers hadn't kicked in yet so I didn't see them coming, but now, well they know I would."
'And Michael would rip them limb from limb,' Liz thought silently, thinking what everyone else in the room wanted to say.
"Liz," Phillip said. "I usually don't encourage the citizens from Antar to lie, but I would recommend not telling anyone you can do that. It stays in this room," King Phillip said as everyone nodded their consent. "In the morning, when you go to your cataloging, do not tell them you can do that."
"I'm giving the tests, so I'll make sure there is nothing like Maria's candle trick to make it spring up," Michael said thoughtfully. "There is so much we don't know about when Antarians and Humans mate. If it comes up later then you can just act like it just happened. As it is you are decades ahead of where you should be for your age," he finished almost in an admiring tone.
Everyone said their goodnight and King Phillip and Michael made their way back to Phillip's house.
"Thank you for coming to me Michael," King Phillip said. He really loved Michael, and knew he would be a big part of the Antarians future.
"Your welcome," Michael said. He almost wanted to confide in the King, tell him how he didn't trust going to his own Father but he just couldn't. He tried to keep those thoughts to himself, but he didn't know if he had.
He hadn't, and the King felt horrible for him. He only hoped that Ed was exposed before he did anything dangerous.
Michael started to cut away towards his own house when they reached the Evan's driveway and the King placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I need one more favor, Michael," the King said.
"Anything," Michael replied.
"Keep Max away from Liz tomorrow," he said, looking Michael right in the eyes.
"Ahh, ok, why?" Michael said puzzled.
"If what I think is going to happen when they meet happens in front of all those people tomorrow, well I don't think it would exactly be the right time," he explained.
Realization came over Michael. "You think that Liz will be his natural match," Michael said, it coming out more as a statement than a question, "and that would be bad," he finished.
The King smiled a sad smile. "No, I don't think it's bad at all. Liz seems like a bright, thoughtful girl. The age thing may pose a problem, but not everyone can fight nature like you Michael, and I'm not so sure they should."
Michael nodded and turned to walk to his house. He knew what the King meant. It wasn't that Max was weak, he wasn't, not at all, but he definitely ran on emotion more than Michael.
Max felt with his whole being, lived through his heart, and it was something that Michael wished he could do every day.
No, Max meeting his natural mate for the first time tomorrow would not be a good thing, not when certainly there would be many, many enemies among them.
Chapter 4
Michael peered into the room before entering. His sister, Tess, was laying haphazardly on the couch, her leg over the side, pretending to read a book. His best friend and future King Max was at the computer, diligently working.
Tess looked so bored. Why she came her night after night while Max worked was beyond Michael. Well really, he knew why, their Father insisted on it. Sure, Tess cared for Max, they had been friends for over 75 years, but Michael was quite sure that he bored the hell out of her, and vise virsa.
It was like their Father Ed thought that things would change, that Max would suddenly discover that Tess was his natural match. How someone who had lived over 300 years, knew the history of the Antarians could be so naive was beyond him, and why they went along with it was slowly eating away at him.
Tess was fun and vivacious and liked to get into trouble. Max was serious and followed the rules and a damn hard worker. They were opposites in every way, and in this case opposites did not attract.
'Kinda like me and Isabel,' Michael thought. He knew he was in a mess, and just didn't know how to get out of it. Michael loved Isabel, but it was how he loved Tess, like a sister. The thought of mating with her made his skin crawl. It wasn't so bad before, I mean Isabel was beautiful and smart and everything a man could want. He was almost in the mind set that it would be better that way, without the passion of a natural match, without the whole neediness of it. Michael hated needing anyone. It would be much easier to do their duty without the whole look into your eyes soul mate thing.
Then Maria came along a year ago. It was like being hit by a train, and his Father had been devastated. Well, pissed off was more like it. Michael sighed as he went up the winding stairs searching for the King. He felt a moment of guilt for not going to his own Dad, but lately Michael was really starting to question his Father's intentions towards a lot of things, and if there was one thing that Michael was, it was intuitive.
One thing that he was good at was determining people's character. It was like he just knew what kind of person someone was. They didn't know if it was an Antarian gift or not, some humans had a knack for that too, but it was strong in Michael. No, his gifts were physical, with lots of firepower, destructive things. Michael could move so fast he could break the sound barrier, could hear for miles, could see in the dark. Ed Harding had been very disappointed in his only son as higher bred Antarians usually always had mental gifts, but the King had been thrilled.
Someone like Michael hadn't come along in a very long time.
The King looked up from his desk as Michael gently knocked on the door frame. He momentarily smiled until he saw the look on Michael's face, started reading Michael's thoughts.
"Do you think she'll be able to hide it?" King Phillip asked as he got up and put his coat on.
"For her sake, I hope so," Michael said as him and Phillip left the office, leaving the house the back way so Tess and Max didn't see that they were leaving. Michael was used to this short hand type conversation when he was around the King or Max.
King Phillip frowned as they made their way the short distance between his estate and the Parker residence. He hated knowing how much pain Michael was in, hated the guilt that he didn't trust his own Father.
As of late Phillip was having a hard time trusting him too. The problem was he couldn't read Ed Harding's mind. It seemed no one with mental gifts could use them on Ed, so no one knew his true intentions. 'If his own son doesn't trust him....' Phillip thought, 'then perhaps I've been right all along.' Phillip never liked Ed, even though to the outside world Ed acted like they were best friends. Keep your enemies close had been Phillip's philosophy, and he had kept Ed Harding very close. Even though Phillip's word was law, he knew that Ed had power too as one of the founding families of Antar.
He looked at Michael with empathy as he heard his internal dialog about being strong. "You don't have to go in Michael," King Phillip said. "I know how hard it is for you."
"I'll just have to get used to it," Michael said through gritted teeth.
"You have a choice Michael, and you have to do what is best for you," Phillip said, placing his hand on Michael's shoulder. It was not the first time Phillip had made it known that it would not bother him in the least if Michael followed the natural path. In fact, Michael had the sinking suspicion that he had kept them close so that they WOULD do that.
As King, Phillip needed to remain neutral on the subject. It was a double edged sword, really. The Antarians had been waiting for a double wedding ever since these kids were born, and when they all reached breeding age at 17 and found they were not natural matches, well that didn't stop the rumors of Destiny and Fate. No, Antarians loved their folk lore, and this was one tale that had grown way out of control.
Phillip knew Ed was behind it all, but there was nothing he could do about that.
The door opened before they could knock, Maria flashing King Phillip a big smile. 'No sneaking up on me,' she thought as King Phillip laughed.
______________________________________________________________
"I don't know how it happened, Dad, I swear," Liz was saying as they entered the room. "That has never happened to me before." She was worried, really worried as she felt the panic and stress roll off her Father and Step Mother. She felt the extra emotions come in the room, and didn't need to look up to see Michael was back. She took a deep breath and pushed all the emotions into the background of her brain so that she could function and not be overwhelmed.
What did surprise her was another person was in the room, an older man, and she couldn't read anything from him. That had never happened before. She turned to look at him, noticing that he was looking at her just as curiously.
"Phillip," Jeff said, crossing the room, shaking the man's hand. "Thank you for coming."
Amy had went over to Phillip also, giving him a kiss on the cheek, then sent a wicked glare at Michael, making him noticeably uncomfortable.
Liz stood up. Phillip. This must be the Antarian King.
"Phillip, this is Elizabeth, our Daughter," Jeff said as Liz shook his hand. She felt like she should courtesy or something, but Jeff and Amy had explained to her earlier that they did not believe in those traditions, that was an Earth thing.
"It's wonderful to meet you Elizabeth," Phillip said kindly. She may not be able to read his emotions, but she could tell that Phillip was a kind man.
The fact that the King had come made Liz even more nervous, and it must have shown.
"You haven't done anything wrong," Phillip said.
"Oh no, of course not Lizzie!" Amy exclaimed, coming and putting her arms around Liz. Her first instinct was to pull away. Liz was not used to a Motherly type of love, but the more she was around Amy the more she liked it.
Liz looked at Phillip curiously. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You can read minds!'
"Actually," Phillip said, motioning for everyone to sit down, "I can't read yours. I was expecting that though, I couldn't read your Grandmother's either."
Liz let out a deep breath as everyone sat down. "I don't feel your emotions either Mr. Evans," she said.
"Please, it's Phillip," he said with a warm smile as Liz nodded. "Your Grandma couldn't feel our emotions either. My son, Max, he loved being around Claudia. It was nice not to know everyone's exact thoughts. I imagine the two of you will be great friends too."
"Are we the only ones? People who are empaths?" Liz asked.
"Well, not exactly. I can't read my wife's mind either, but she isn't an empath. She dream walks like my daughter Isabel, but I can read Isabel's mind, unfortunately some times," he said with a chuckle. "Your Grandma and you are the only other ones so far. Michael's Father Ed, well his mind is muffled. Sometimes I get things, and sometimes I don't. It's really strange," he said.
Liz noticed a change in the emotions in the room, even from Michael, when he said Ed's name. Everyone was uncomfortable. She would have to watch it when she was around him, she just had a feeling he was bad news.
"So about the shield," Michael said, moving the subject from his Father.
"Why is everyone so scared?" Liz asked, confused.
"Lizzie, do you think you could do it again?" her Father asked.
"Well, I don't know, I'm not sure how I did it to begin with. Michael was charging at me and..." she started to say.
"Hey Liz!" Maria said and threw a candle holder at her full speed, which at Antarian strength was almost faster than a human eye could see.
Liz instantly raised her hand, producing the shield, and the candle holder rebounded off it, flying into the wall, creating a big hole.
"Maria!" Amy admonished, as Michael stifled a chuckle.
"What?" Maria said. "She said she didn't know how to do it and......" everything went quiet as Jeff Parker had moved to stand in front of Michael.
"You charged my daughter," he said between gritted teeth.
In all her years, Liz thought she had felt every feeling available. She had felt pain, joy, love, lust, hate....but nothing ever compared to this, and she was holding back.
It was...primal...and it scared the hell out of her. All the things she had heard about Antarian men, how protective, how they felt about their children and their mates, well Liz was starting to understand why the rules may be a little different for the women, because they didn't feel even a tenth of the emotion the men felt.
Phillip was up in a second, looking worried. "Calm down Jeff, I'm sure there is a valid reason. Michael?"
Michael kept his gaze even as he looked at Jeff. He knew Jeff didn't stand a chance in hell if he tried to fight him, but he didn't want to hurt him, and he knew Jeff was running on pure instinct.
Antarian men and instinct could be lethal.
"I would never hurt her Jeff," Michael said. "I was just trying to teach her a lesson. Little kids should not be wandering around in the dark, especially after what we just learned about her."
Liz felt the emotions start to fade and let out a sigh of relief. Then she realized what Michael said.
"I am not a little kid Michael," she said, annoyed.
The men all sat down and the atmosphere cleared. "Yes, you are," Michael retorted, "and you need a good healthy dose of fear."
Liz snorted. "Whatever," she said, getting angry. "I lived 17 years not knowing who I was, why I turned green in the sunlight, why I could do all these impossible things. I spent 17 years hiding it, in horrible pain, because I pretty much knew what would happen to me if I were ever discovered, so don't you dare tell me about fear Michael, and don't you dare insinuate that I can't take care of myself because I have done just that, my entire life."
Immediately she wished she could take it back as the felt the guilt and sadness rolling off everyone in the room. Liz had just brushed it to the side when she had talked to her Father and Amy earlier, like it was no big deal. She had tried to make it seem like it was just this big adventure, but now they knew the truth. Liz's first 17 years had been complete hell, except for when Grandma Claudia visited.
Jeff and Amy both looked positively horrified and she could feel the shame rolling off Michael.
"We all failed you Elizabeth," Phillip said softly. "ALL of us," he said pointedly at Jeff, not allowing him to take the blame on by himself. Phillip could not imagine what Jeff was going through, knowing that his daughter had lived that way for so long. "But we will not fail you again, which is why we have to make sure you know why the fact that you produce that shield is dangerous."
"Yes, why is that such a big deal?" Liz asked. There was still so much for her to learn, and with a ton of Antarians coming into town for Grandma Claudia's funeral, she was starting to worry that she just wouldn't be prepared.
"When they found out I could do this," Maria said, stood up and put her hand in front of her, a brilliant purple shield coming from her hand, "I was kidnapped."
"Oh God, why?" Liz asked. She didn't understand, didn't understand any of this. Michael, well she couldn't see how he was even keeping himself in his skin. She could tell that he wanted to go to her, to hold her, but he was fighting, and fighting hard.
She would never make the mistake of thinking that Michael Harding was weak.
Maria sat back down, and Amy took Liz's hand. "Honey, just like humans, not all Antarians are good. Back on our planet, and here until about a year ago, the only beings that could make a shield were royalty."
"There are many people here that think the notion of Royalty is outdated," Jeff said, coming to the other side of Liz. "There is a lot of division in our community right now. Some people don't want to hide anymore, some people think we are superior to humans. A group that believes both those things took Maria. We think they wanted to see if they could produce a child from her that it would also be able to produce a shield and it would debunk the whole meaning of Royalty."
"Oh Maria," Liz said, her hand flying to her mouth.
"It's nothing," Maria said, but Liz knew damn well she was doing what Liz had done earlier, glossed over the truth. "They wouldn't dare try it now. My powers hadn't kicked in yet so I didn't see them coming, but now, well they know I would."
'And Michael would rip them limb from limb,' Liz thought silently, thinking what everyone else in the room wanted to say.
"Liz," Phillip said. "I usually don't encourage the citizens from Antar to lie, but I would recommend not telling anyone you can do that. It stays in this room," King Phillip said as everyone nodded their consent. "In the morning, when you go to your cataloging, do not tell them you can do that."
"I'm giving the tests, so I'll make sure there is nothing like Maria's candle trick to make it spring up," Michael said thoughtfully. "There is so much we don't know about when Antarians and Humans mate. If it comes up later then you can just act like it just happened. As it is you are decades ahead of where you should be for your age," he finished almost in an admiring tone.
Everyone said their goodnight and King Phillip and Michael made their way back to Phillip's house.
"Thank you for coming to me Michael," King Phillip said. He really loved Michael, and knew he would be a big part of the Antarians future.
"Your welcome," Michael said. He almost wanted to confide in the King, tell him how he didn't trust going to his own Father but he just couldn't. He tried to keep those thoughts to himself, but he didn't know if he had.
He hadn't, and the King felt horrible for him. He only hoped that Ed was exposed before he did anything dangerous.
Michael started to cut away towards his own house when they reached the Evan's driveway and the King placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I need one more favor, Michael," the King said.
"Anything," Michael replied.
"Keep Max away from Liz tomorrow," he said, looking Michael right in the eyes.
"Ahh, ok, why?" Michael said puzzled.
"If what I think is going to happen when they meet happens in front of all those people tomorrow, well I don't think it would exactly be the right time," he explained.
Realization came over Michael. "You think that Liz will be his natural match," Michael said, it coming out more as a statement than a question, "and that would be bad," he finished.
The King smiled a sad smile. "No, I don't think it's bad at all. Liz seems like a bright, thoughtful girl. The age thing may pose a problem, but not everyone can fight nature like you Michael, and I'm not so sure they should."
Michael nodded and turned to walk to his house. He knew what the King meant. It wasn't that Max was weak, he wasn't, not at all, but he definitely ran on emotion more than Michael.
Max felt with his whole being, lived through his heart, and it was something that Michael wished he could do every day.
No, Max meeting his natural mate for the first time tomorrow would not be a good thing, not when certainly there would be many, many enemies among them.
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Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
Re: Little Girl Lost (Mature) CC ALL Ch 4 11-21 AN12-13
Thanks for the FB everyone!
nibbles2: When Liz was younger they did not know she was alien because she came into her powers early and learned how to hide them. They were just watching her at that point, and the fact that she was in the sun made them think she was human.
tequathisy, oh I absolutely think there will be plenty of problems with Mr. Harding
Ahhh thank you Whimsicality It is a great compliment when someone from a different ship likes your story I must admit, if I read UC it is Polar 
I would probably read more but most that I see has Max being totally evil or Maria just being a jerk. It's kind of like what you said about my story, the black hatted villian gets really, really old.
Chapter 5
Max pretended to read the computer screen while listening for Michael's thoughts. Oh, Michael thought he was fast enough to get through without him noticing, but he had, and he had heard.
So Claudia's Granddaughter could produce a shield. Interesting. He probably would have thought more on that if he didn't have the other thing on his mind when he went flying through the house soundlessly at speeds faster than the human eye.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Max, but he didn't trust Tess. Not that Tess would do anything other than run to her Father with the information, which meant he really didn't trust his Father.
Tess did live to please her Daddy.
Max didn't like Ed Harding, he knew his Father didn't like him, and for the millionth time he wondered why anyone put up with this charade that the "Royal Four" belonged together. Sure, there were problems in their community, but there are problems in all communities. The fact that they thought that two sets of twins being born at the same time meant they were to be together, well it seemed preposterous to Max.
But he did understand the ramifications if they didn't end up together. There would be many people whose faith would be shaken, faith in Destiny and Fate, two things that brought them to Earth.
He sighed and tried harder to hear either his Dad or Michael. Normally he tried to give as much privacy as he could, but when emotions were high, it was almost impossible to block people out. He caught the tail end of Tess's thoughts on accident. 'If only she would have waited a week longer to die, my fabulous new dress from New York would have been here. It would have looked so much better to the people. I wonder what her Grandaughter will be like? Dad is awful nervous, but he always is when a new girl comes to town. Like Max would ever pick someone half human. He'll come around, I just know.............'
Max squinted his eyes to turn off her thoughts and started to get angry, really angry. Normally Tess was alright, even if she could be a little stuck up, but he knew that was from her upbringing. Underneath that she could be really sweet and warm, but being around Max seemed to bring out the worst of her qualities.
He had hoped when Kyle Valenti came to town and they were natural matches that they would give, but no such luck. Kyle seemed content to just hate his guts right now, and all Tess ever wanted was to be Queen.
But to think about Claudia like that....Max loved Claudia. "Tess, I really have a lot to get done before tomorrow, so maybe you should go home," he said evenly.
"What? I'm not bothering you, am I?" she asked almost panicked. Max had never asked her to go home before.
"I'm just having a hard time keeping your thoughts to yourself right now, and it's distracting," Max answered.
"Oh," Tess said, knowing what he must have heard.
Max turned back to his computer without a word.
"Max, I know that must have seemed bad, me thinking that..." she started to say.
"Don't Tess, don't apologize for what you really think. It's just some of us don't see this as a big party or networking event," he said curtly.
Tess got up and moved behind Max, placing her hand on his shoulder, truly sorry. "I'm sorry Max, I didn't know Claudia like you did. You must realize that many Antarians will be in from all over the world, and it's important to make a good impression."
"Why Tess, why do you need to make a good impression?" he said casually, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.
"Well, because uhh," she stammered. Even though all the aliens on Earth talked up the Royal Four, they never talked about it - not Michael, not Isabel, not Tess, and certainly not Max. It was always just an assumption that hung in the air.
"Now I," he said getting angrier at the whole situation, "I as Crowned Prince have obligations, and need to worry about impressions, but you don't. You don't even have to go."
"Well I figured we'd be going together," she said, her hand dropping to her side, shock showing on her face. They always did everything "formal" together.
Max was typing hard on the keyboard now. "Oh I'm sure your great amount of compassion would help me with the passing of my friend, but I think I'll do fine without it. I think I would rather be with family tomorrow. Go home Tess."
She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. When Max said things in this type of tone, he meant it. It would do no good to argue with him tonight, and tears sprung to her eyes when she realized she would have to tell her Father what happened.
Max heard his Father coming in and cursed himself that he didn't hear him and Michael come back. His Father was very good at not thinking things he didn't want Max to know. He heard the front door gently close, and was glad that Tess was gone. He gave up the charade of working, and searched out his Father's thoughts.
"Rough night?" his Father asked as he came into the room, sitting on the couch Tess had vacated.
Max swiveled in his chair and sighed. "Something like that."
"Don't be to hard on her, girls worry about things like dresses," Phillip said. He knew Tess could be vain and silly at times, but hell, so could his own daughter. Phillip really liked Tess, and he thought she could be a wonderful person if she ever got out from under her Father's thumb.
"I bet Maria or Claudia's Granddaughter aren't worried about what they are going to wear, or wishing she could have died later so they had a better dress," Max pointed out.
"No, no they aren't, but they loved Claudia," Phillip pointed out.
"Point taken," Max said. "So do you want me to take Tess to the funeral?"
"That's not my decision Max. Do you want to take her?" he questioned.
"No," Max said with conviction. It was time to put and end to this nonsense.
Phillip took a deep breath. Maybe Max was going to take a stand on this whole Royal Four business right now, and even though he tried to hide it from Max, he was pleased.
He was unsuccessful.
"You aren't worried about people talking? About people losing faith because there might not be any Royal Four?" Max questioned carefully.
Phillip gathered his thoughts on the matter. "I've never pushed you, one way or the other, because I've always believed that it is a personal choice. You will be in charge one day, and you need to decide what is best for you, and for our citizens."
"But isn't the whole "Royal Four" what is best? I mean, it has given people a lot of hope, like what we did was right, leaving Antar, starting over," Max said, a frown appearing on his face.
Phillip leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees, looking Max in the eyes. "But what of natural matches Max? You know how much it pains Michael. Is that not Fate? Is that not Destiny that he should be with Maria?"
Max nodded. It was true, people who were with their natural match never strayed, never cheated, never got bored with those people. With a less diverse group of Antarians natural matches weren't as frequent as back on Antar, but it was a blessing if you found it.
"Now if you were to marry Tess and then find your natural match, could you resist Max?" Phillip said.
"Well I wouldn't have a choice," Max said. "I would have to."
Phillip gave Max an incredulous look.
"What, you don't think I can be as strong as Michael?" he asked in an almost hurt tone.
"No, it isn't a matter of strength. Michael, well Michael's upbringing wasn't exactly an emotionally stable environment," Phillip said, trying to sound neutral even though he knew Michael never received much love from his Dad and his Mom had died in childbirth.
"You on the other hand, well lets just say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and there is nothing on Earth or Antar that would have stopped me from being with your Mom," he said with a dreamy smile on his face. "I couldn't even wait the month courting period. Your Grandfather chased me away from that house every night that first week," he said as him and Max chuckled.
"So I've heard," Max said, still laughing. His Grandfather used to tell him stories all the time about his love-lorn Father and how he couldn't wait the mandatory month long waiting period to marry his Mother.
"Don't laugh son, I have a feeling you'll be worse," he kidded, thinking about Max singing outside Liz's window.......
Before Phillip could stop himself Max caught his thought.
Now Max was laughing harder. "Oh please Dad, you're kidding, right? She's a child. I've been alive 75 years. What on Earth could we have in common? Surely I am not cursed that much."
Phillip's jovial mood vanished. "Actually, physically she's 75 also, even if she hasn't been alive that long. She's a lot more mature than most at your age, with everything that she's been through."
He thought of an image of Liz, the one time he had seen her smile, with her big brown eyes, long silky hair and beautiful smile.
"Alright, so she's beautiful," Max said. "That doesn't mean anything. Most Antarians are aesthetically appealing. Poor Claudia, she must have been a wreck when she found out that Elizabeth was really Antarian."
"I'm sure," Phillip said sadly. "Elizabeth is a lot like her. Even if I'm wrong about the natural match thing I'm sure you'll be great friends if you give her a chance. She reminds me a lot of Claudia, and on that note a word of advice. Don't call her a kid. She practically bit Michael's head off for doing that."
"Sounds like something Claudia would do," Max said, sadly smiling.
"We'll all miss her son," Phillip said, choking up a bit himself.
"Yeah, but at least she knows that Elizabeth is taken care of, with people that love her," Max said. It had always killed Claudia to leave her with Nancy. Max and Claudia had a great friendship because they could not hear each other - Max didn't hear her thoughts and Claudia couldn't feel his emotions. It was always just nice to talk without all the extra senses involved.
Maybe he would be great friends with Elizabeth, even if she was so young, but her natural match? Well Max couldn't bring himself to believe that.
______________________________________________________
Liz woke up, wiping the sleep from her eyes and looking around the room. It was almost like she thought it was all a dream, a beautiful, terrifying, loving dream. She turned to the clock and saw it was three am. Her need for sleep was getting shorter and shorter by the day. She had only slept three hours and was completely well rested.
Carefully she got out of bed and tip-toed to her jewelry box, looking for a particular piece. She lovingly fingered the red stone that now hung around her neck, one of Grandma Claudia's necklaces. They had all been given to her as she was her only living blood relative.
She found the bright green stone attached to the lovely platinum like chain. Both stones were from their home planet, and Liz had made a decision before she fell asleep.
Liz had laid there, waiting for sleep to take her, thinking about everything that had happened that day, how much her life had changed in just over a week. She thought about how great it was to be with her Dad, and how absolutely intoxicating it was to have Amy and Maria accept her like she was part of the family.
The door opened before she could knock, a smiling Maria looking at her through tear-filled eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly.
"Absolutely," Liz said as she waved for Maria to turn around and fastened the beautiful green stone around her neck. Maria turned back around and gave Liz a great big hug, whispering "thank you, thank you, thank you" over and over.
This just made Liz smile bigger as she tried to out do her "thanks you's" with "your welcome's". It made her smile because Liz knew in her heart of hearts that it was the right thing to do, and the fact that it was a precious stone from Antar meant little to Maria. No, Maria was happy because it was from Grandma Claudia. It could have been a piece of tin on a string and she would have been just as overcome with emotion.
Maria finally calmed down long enough to gently touch her new necklace, and she looked up at Liz with beaming eyes.
"She was your Grandma too Maria, don't let anyone tell you any different," Liz said as Maria's face lit up like a Christmas tree. Yes, her first foray into following her heart had been very, very satisfying.
nibbles2: When Liz was younger they did not know she was alien because she came into her powers early and learned how to hide them. They were just watching her at that point, and the fact that she was in the sun made them think she was human.
tequathisy, oh I absolutely think there will be plenty of problems with Mr. Harding
Ahhh thank you Whimsicality
It is a great compliment when someone from a different ship likes your story I must admit, if I read UC it is Polar I would probably read more but most that I see has Max being totally evil or Maria just being a jerk. It's kind of like what you said about my story, the black hatted villian gets really, really old.Chapter 5
Max pretended to read the computer screen while listening for Michael's thoughts. Oh, Michael thought he was fast enough to get through without him noticing, but he had, and he had heard.
So Claudia's Granddaughter could produce a shield. Interesting. He probably would have thought more on that if he didn't have the other thing on his mind when he went flying through the house soundlessly at speeds faster than the human eye.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Max, but he didn't trust Tess. Not that Tess would do anything other than run to her Father with the information, which meant he really didn't trust his Father.
Tess did live to please her Daddy.
Max didn't like Ed Harding, he knew his Father didn't like him, and for the millionth time he wondered why anyone put up with this charade that the "Royal Four" belonged together. Sure, there were problems in their community, but there are problems in all communities. The fact that they thought that two sets of twins being born at the same time meant they were to be together, well it seemed preposterous to Max.
But he did understand the ramifications if they didn't end up together. There would be many people whose faith would be shaken, faith in Destiny and Fate, two things that brought them to Earth.
He sighed and tried harder to hear either his Dad or Michael. Normally he tried to give as much privacy as he could, but when emotions were high, it was almost impossible to block people out. He caught the tail end of Tess's thoughts on accident. 'If only she would have waited a week longer to die, my fabulous new dress from New York would have been here. It would have looked so much better to the people. I wonder what her Grandaughter will be like? Dad is awful nervous, but he always is when a new girl comes to town. Like Max would ever pick someone half human. He'll come around, I just know.............'
Max squinted his eyes to turn off her thoughts and started to get angry, really angry. Normally Tess was alright, even if she could be a little stuck up, but he knew that was from her upbringing. Underneath that she could be really sweet and warm, but being around Max seemed to bring out the worst of her qualities.
He had hoped when Kyle Valenti came to town and they were natural matches that they would give, but no such luck. Kyle seemed content to just hate his guts right now, and all Tess ever wanted was to be Queen.
But to think about Claudia like that....Max loved Claudia. "Tess, I really have a lot to get done before tomorrow, so maybe you should go home," he said evenly.
"What? I'm not bothering you, am I?" she asked almost panicked. Max had never asked her to go home before.
"I'm just having a hard time keeping your thoughts to yourself right now, and it's distracting," Max answered.
"Oh," Tess said, knowing what he must have heard.
Max turned back to his computer without a word.
"Max, I know that must have seemed bad, me thinking that..." she started to say.
"Don't Tess, don't apologize for what you really think. It's just some of us don't see this as a big party or networking event," he said curtly.
Tess got up and moved behind Max, placing her hand on his shoulder, truly sorry. "I'm sorry Max, I didn't know Claudia like you did. You must realize that many Antarians will be in from all over the world, and it's important to make a good impression."
"Why Tess, why do you need to make a good impression?" he said casually, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.
"Well, because uhh," she stammered. Even though all the aliens on Earth talked up the Royal Four, they never talked about it - not Michael, not Isabel, not Tess, and certainly not Max. It was always just an assumption that hung in the air.
"Now I," he said getting angrier at the whole situation, "I as Crowned Prince have obligations, and need to worry about impressions, but you don't. You don't even have to go."
"Well I figured we'd be going together," she said, her hand dropping to her side, shock showing on her face. They always did everything "formal" together.
Max was typing hard on the keyboard now. "Oh I'm sure your great amount of compassion would help me with the passing of my friend, but I think I'll do fine without it. I think I would rather be with family tomorrow. Go home Tess."
She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. When Max said things in this type of tone, he meant it. It would do no good to argue with him tonight, and tears sprung to her eyes when she realized she would have to tell her Father what happened.
Max heard his Father coming in and cursed himself that he didn't hear him and Michael come back. His Father was very good at not thinking things he didn't want Max to know. He heard the front door gently close, and was glad that Tess was gone. He gave up the charade of working, and searched out his Father's thoughts.
"Rough night?" his Father asked as he came into the room, sitting on the couch Tess had vacated.
Max swiveled in his chair and sighed. "Something like that."
"Don't be to hard on her, girls worry about things like dresses," Phillip said. He knew Tess could be vain and silly at times, but hell, so could his own daughter. Phillip really liked Tess, and he thought she could be a wonderful person if she ever got out from under her Father's thumb.
"I bet Maria or Claudia's Granddaughter aren't worried about what they are going to wear, or wishing she could have died later so they had a better dress," Max pointed out.
"No, no they aren't, but they loved Claudia," Phillip pointed out.
"Point taken," Max said. "So do you want me to take Tess to the funeral?"
"That's not my decision Max. Do you want to take her?" he questioned.
"No," Max said with conviction. It was time to put and end to this nonsense.
Phillip took a deep breath. Maybe Max was going to take a stand on this whole Royal Four business right now, and even though he tried to hide it from Max, he was pleased.
He was unsuccessful.
"You aren't worried about people talking? About people losing faith because there might not be any Royal Four?" Max questioned carefully.
Phillip gathered his thoughts on the matter. "I've never pushed you, one way or the other, because I've always believed that it is a personal choice. You will be in charge one day, and you need to decide what is best for you, and for our citizens."
"But isn't the whole "Royal Four" what is best? I mean, it has given people a lot of hope, like what we did was right, leaving Antar, starting over," Max said, a frown appearing on his face.
Phillip leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees, looking Max in the eyes. "But what of natural matches Max? You know how much it pains Michael. Is that not Fate? Is that not Destiny that he should be with Maria?"
Max nodded. It was true, people who were with their natural match never strayed, never cheated, never got bored with those people. With a less diverse group of Antarians natural matches weren't as frequent as back on Antar, but it was a blessing if you found it.
"Now if you were to marry Tess and then find your natural match, could you resist Max?" Phillip said.
"Well I wouldn't have a choice," Max said. "I would have to."
Phillip gave Max an incredulous look.
"What, you don't think I can be as strong as Michael?" he asked in an almost hurt tone.
"No, it isn't a matter of strength. Michael, well Michael's upbringing wasn't exactly an emotionally stable environment," Phillip said, trying to sound neutral even though he knew Michael never received much love from his Dad and his Mom had died in childbirth.
"You on the other hand, well lets just say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and there is nothing on Earth or Antar that would have stopped me from being with your Mom," he said with a dreamy smile on his face. "I couldn't even wait the month courting period. Your Grandfather chased me away from that house every night that first week," he said as him and Max chuckled.
"So I've heard," Max said, still laughing. His Grandfather used to tell him stories all the time about his love-lorn Father and how he couldn't wait the mandatory month long waiting period to marry his Mother.
"Don't laugh son, I have a feeling you'll be worse," he kidded, thinking about Max singing outside Liz's window.......
Before Phillip could stop himself Max caught his thought.
Now Max was laughing harder. "Oh please Dad, you're kidding, right? She's a child. I've been alive 75 years. What on Earth could we have in common? Surely I am not cursed that much."
Phillip's jovial mood vanished. "Actually, physically she's 75 also, even if she hasn't been alive that long. She's a lot more mature than most at your age, with everything that she's been through."
He thought of an image of Liz, the one time he had seen her smile, with her big brown eyes, long silky hair and beautiful smile.
"Alright, so she's beautiful," Max said. "That doesn't mean anything. Most Antarians are aesthetically appealing. Poor Claudia, she must have been a wreck when she found out that Elizabeth was really Antarian."
"I'm sure," Phillip said sadly. "Elizabeth is a lot like her. Even if I'm wrong about the natural match thing I'm sure you'll be great friends if you give her a chance. She reminds me a lot of Claudia, and on that note a word of advice. Don't call her a kid. She practically bit Michael's head off for doing that."
"Sounds like something Claudia would do," Max said, sadly smiling.
"We'll all miss her son," Phillip said, choking up a bit himself.
"Yeah, but at least she knows that Elizabeth is taken care of, with people that love her," Max said. It had always killed Claudia to leave her with Nancy. Max and Claudia had a great friendship because they could not hear each other - Max didn't hear her thoughts and Claudia couldn't feel his emotions. It was always just nice to talk without all the extra senses involved.
Maybe he would be great friends with Elizabeth, even if she was so young, but her natural match? Well Max couldn't bring himself to believe that.
______________________________________________________
Liz woke up, wiping the sleep from her eyes and looking around the room. It was almost like she thought it was all a dream, a beautiful, terrifying, loving dream. She turned to the clock and saw it was three am. Her need for sleep was getting shorter and shorter by the day. She had only slept three hours and was completely well rested.
Carefully she got out of bed and tip-toed to her jewelry box, looking for a particular piece. She lovingly fingered the red stone that now hung around her neck, one of Grandma Claudia's necklaces. They had all been given to her as she was her only living blood relative.
She found the bright green stone attached to the lovely platinum like chain. Both stones were from their home planet, and Liz had made a decision before she fell asleep.
Liz had laid there, waiting for sleep to take her, thinking about everything that had happened that day, how much her life had changed in just over a week. She thought about how great it was to be with her Dad, and how absolutely intoxicating it was to have Amy and Maria accept her like she was part of the family.
The door opened before she could knock, a smiling Maria looking at her through tear-filled eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly.
"Absolutely," Liz said as she waved for Maria to turn around and fastened the beautiful green stone around her neck. Maria turned back around and gave Liz a great big hug, whispering "thank you, thank you, thank you" over and over.
This just made Liz smile bigger as she tried to out do her "thanks you's" with "your welcome's". It made her smile because Liz knew in her heart of hearts that it was the right thing to do, and the fact that it was a precious stone from Antar meant little to Maria. No, Maria was happy because it was from Grandma Claudia. It could have been a piece of tin on a string and she would have been just as overcome with emotion.
Maria finally calmed down long enough to gently touch her new necklace, and she looked up at Liz with beaming eyes.
"She was your Grandma too Maria, don't let anyone tell you any different," Liz said as Maria's face lit up like a Christmas tree. Yes, her first foray into following her heart had been very, very satisfying.
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Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
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Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
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Re: Little Girl Lost (Mature) CC ALL Ch 5 12-29
Ahhh sorry folks, lots of stuff has been going on since Christmas???? but I promise I have not forgotten this and will be back to work on it soon!
Find all the links to my fics in one place:
My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net
My Author's Page
New Fic!
Little Girl Lost in the alternative universe w/aliens forum!
Check out my website! http://kel.uppercaseliving.net